Employers and employees are often confused about how many hours an employee must work before overtime must be paid. California law is more complicated than most states on this point, but it is also much more generous to employees than most.

Employers must pay all non-exempt employees overtime at the rate of time-and-one-half for all hours worked:

1) Over 40 in one week,

2) Over 8 in one day, and

3) For hours 1-8 on the seventh-consecutive workday in a workweek.

Employers also must pay employees double time for all hours worked:

1) Over 12 in one day, and

2) Over 8 on the seventh-consecutive workday.

The math can get a little tricky here, which is where many employers violate the law and over time these "little" mistakes, such as ignoring double-time pay for certain hours, can add up to "big" liability.

There is an exception to this rule for "make up time". If an employee wishes to miss part of one day of work and then "make it up" the next day or later in the week, these hours do not count as overtime even if they are more than 8 in one day.

However, permission to "make up" time must be requested in writing before-the-fact and an employer cannot coerce an employee into making such a request.